The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1887-12-08

the United States may improve the en- I
trance to said harbor and do all other T
things ncedfuI to tie purpose aforesaid. +
AS it can thus be seen, this article
must, to any sensible person, read
as a permanent, absolute cession of
privilege, since there is no clause in
it to authorize the King of these
islands TO cause it TO be ended when
the treaty ends, and nothing at all
to prevent the U. S. Government
claiming that this privilege was
really meant as permanent.
The only authority (?!D we have
on the matter is quibbling pretend
ed explanatory letter of Secretary
Bayard, in which--whilst acknow-
Lodging his incompetency "to quail
fly, expand OF explain" anything
he expresses his own personal opinion
that no other explanation or limita-
ton is needed to this article as to
its terminating with Article l. But
what seems to Mr.. Bayard person
ally so clear, will undoubtedly APP
pear just the contrary to bis sue
cessors, who will not by any means
feel bound by his assertions any
more than those who come after
them, will feel bound by the opinion
of the Green and Brown Ministry.
And furthermore recent example,
connected with this same treaty, has
already shown what value can be
placed on the words and opinions of
Mr.. Bayard, who is not the infallible
"Chevalier sans puer ct sans re-
proche." But even if Mr.. Bayard's
letter was written in perfect good
faith, what government would con-
slider itself tied by the opinion of n
subaltern officer? Verbd voiant,
Scripto mdnent, and | shall ask our
clever leaders where in the whole of
history are the smart diplomats who
have ever consented to accept such
an important thing as treaty Sin
simple good faith" without its being
properly and carefully wordcd?
Had it therefore been wished by
our ministers to make the clause
clear and indIsputable, as announced
in the royal message, instead of
buugling the job IN such an untimely
rush, they ought to have refused to
sign the document unless something
more binding than Mr.. Bayard's
opinion had been added, in the shape
of an additional phrase, something
in this way: "such aforesaid privi-
lege to terminate with this same
treaty."
But it really seems as if the matter
had been purposely left ambiguous.
1t seems as if it was the intention
of the ministers of consenting to the
grant of perpetual cession of Pearl
River, without their having the
courage of acknowledging it openly.
Therefore, l shall ask who is
fooled, and who is fooling in this
convention.
Did the Ministers fool the King
by making him sign deed, the true
inwardness of which he was not
aware?
Or did the L. S. Government fool
our wise Ministers here, by conven-
iently refusing to insert most i'm
portant clause, mentioned in our
Royal speech?
Or did King Kalakaua wish to fool
his own subjects, whom he knows to
be opposed to all idea of cesssion of
territory?
This last hypothesis is not sustain
able an instant, but the other two
need an answer.
At any rate, say, as Hawaiian
citizen that the restrictive clause
| have mentioned above, ought to be
even now inserted in the Treaty.
If not, it will appear hereafter
that the present convention, through
connivance of the Ministry, did con-
tain a virtual and perpetual cession
of territorial privilege, in exchange
for mere years extension of what
eminent men term a "worse than
useless" treaty.
And, at this stage, l say that the
Ministry had no right to accept so
lightly treaty involving even the
most remote chance of a future
squabblc over possible cession Of
territory, without the approval of
the Parliament and most probably
even an appeal to the people, to the
native Hawaiians to whom the coun
try belongs.
Furthermore, ] say that if the
Ministers have imprudently commit
ted blunder, they had better con-
fess it and try to attenuate it.
But if they have been trying to
fool the people, or have carelessly
allowed themselves to be fooled, they
might before they know it, be called
to account by the indignant Hawai-
ians.
At any rate, it is a serious matter,
which ought to be taken up at once,
in the present House, If not by the
foreigners, at least by the Hawaiian
| memhnrs A MARQUES.